To be sure, conversations about investing in higher education - and how the money is spent - can sound a lot different, especially if you’re the one doing the talking or the listening.

Obviously, we need to attract and keep the best when it comes to educating Virginia’s students, and we appreciate that there’s an expense that comes with meeting those challenges.

But as we said last week in an opinion column appearing in The Roanoke Times, it’s got to be hard for those paying the bills – last year alone, choking on more than 5 percent increases in tuition and fees – for the numbers to add up, which is why this spreadsheet is interesting.

Yes, it’s complicated.

And yes, there are lots of moving parts, which is why Partners advocates for more accountability and transparency when it comes to setting tuition and fees.

But it’s also about insisting that our public colleges and universities live up to their obligations to educate Virginians first because, after all, that should be their first responsibility.

We hope you agree, and thanks for your support as we work together to make a college degree affordable. . . and in reach.